RATIONALE: Hormones can stimulate the growth of prostate cancer cells. Hormone therapy may fight prostate cancer by reducing the production of androgens. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. It is not yet known whether hormone therapy plus surgery is more effective than hormone therapy plus radiation therapy for prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying giving hormone therapy alone to see how well it works compared to giving hormone therapy together with bilateral orchiectomy or radiation therapy in treating patients with stage III or stage IV prostate cancer.

Detailed Description

OBJECTIVES:

Compare the overall survival, disease specific survival, and time to progression in patients with locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the prostate treated with total androgen suppression with or without pelvic irradiation.

Compare the symptomatic control as measured by the rates of surgical interventions needed for control of local disease (e.g., transurethral resections, stent insertions, nephrostomies, and colostomies) in patients treated with these regimens.

Compare the quality of life of patients treated with these regimens.

Compare the sensitivity of the EORTC-QLQ-C30+3 and a trial-specific checklist (PR17) with the FACT-P questionnaire in measuring changes in quality of life of patients treated with these regimens.

Arm I: Patients receive antiandrogen therapy comprising oral flutamide every 8 hours, oral nilutamide every 8 hours for 1 month and then once daily, or oral bicalutamide once daily. Patients also choose to undergo bilateral orchiectomy or LHRH agonist therapy comprising goserelin subcutaneously (SC) every 4 weeks (short-acting formulation) or every 3 months (long-acting formulation), leuprolide intramuscularly every 4 weeks (short-acting formulation) or every 3 months (long-acting formulation), or buserelin SC every 8 weeks or every 12 weeks. Patients choosing orchiectomy may receive an antiandrogen for at least 6 weeks before surgery to counter any flare phenomenon and may continue the antiandrogen after surgery (at the physician's discretion).

Arm II: Patients undergo total androgen ablation as in arm I. Patients with node-negative dissection undergo radiotherapy 5 days a week for 6.5-7 weeks. All other patients undergo radiotherapy 5 days a week for 5 weeks, followed by boost radiotherapy 5 days a week for 2-2.4 weeks.

Hormonal therapy on both arms continues in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Quality of life is assessed at baseline, on the last day of radiotherapy, at 6 months, and then every 6 months thereafter.

Patients are followed at 1, 2, and 6 months and then every 6 months thereafter.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 1,200 patients will be accrued for this study within 7.5 years.